Newsletters
Türkiye and Saudi Arabia plan to sign an agreement scrapping visa requirements for their citizens during talks between their foreign ministers in Ankara on Wednesday, a Turkish diplomatic source told Reuters on Tuesday.
The development will mark the latest milestone in a bilateral relationship that has undergone a significant transformation since the 2018 Khashoggi crisis.
"Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan are due to chair a meeting of the Türkiye-Saudi Coordination Council, during which the visa agreement is expected to be signed," the source said.
The Turkish diplomatic source told Reuters that Fidan would reiterate Ankara's push for "regional ownership" in addressing Middle East issues and stress that Türkiye would continue to contribute constructively to efforts to end the war in Iran.
Fidan would also underline that developments around the Strait of Hormuz should not lead to "new tensions and provocations," the source added.
Relations between Ankara and Riyadh were severely damaged following the October 2018 killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, after Türkiye accused senior Saudi officials of orchestrating the murder.
The two sides began taking steps to repair ties from 2020 onward, with relations improving markedly after 2021, when Türkiye launched a broader diplomatic effort to mend ties with regional nations, including Riyadh.
Set as preferred source
Set as preferred source
5 min read
